Iowa Alliance Conference
 | |
| Conference | IHSAA / IGHSAU |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2022 |
| Sports fielded |
|
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Region | Central Iowa |
| Website | https://www.iowaallianceconference.org/ |
| Locations | |
The Iowa Alliance Conference is a high school athletic conference whose members are mostly located in the metropolitan areas of central Iowa, with five of the schools being from the Des Moines Independent Community School District.
The conference includes 11 schools and is divided into 2 divisions: North and South. 10 of the 11 schools are formerly of the Central Iowa Metro League.
Member schools
[edit]| Institution | Location | Affiliation | 2026-2027 BEDS[1] | Mascot | Colors | Former Conference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Division | |||||||||
| East | Waterloo | Public | 809 | Trojans | MVC | ||||
| Fort Dodge | Fort Dodge | Public | 766 | Dodgers | CIML | ||||
| Marshalltown | Marshalltown | Public | 1,185 | Bobcats | CIML | ||||
| Mason City | Mason City | Public | 689 | River Hawks | CIML | ||||
| South Division | |||||||||
| East | Des Moines | Public | 1,333 | Scarlets | CIML | ||||
| Hoover | Des Moines | Public | 617 | Huskies | CIML | ||||
| Lincoln | Des Moines | Public | 1,596 | Railsplitters | CIML | ||||
| North | Des Moines | Public | 957 | Polar Bears | CIML | ||||
| Ottumwa | Ottumwa | Public | 1,027 | Bulldogs | CIML | ||||
| Roosevelt | Des Moines | Public | 1,428 | Rough Riders | CIML | ||||
| School | Sport Shared | Co-opting Schools |
|---|---|---|
| DM East | Girls Soccer | Saydel |
| DM Hoover | Boys Wrestling | DM North |
| DM North | Boys Wrestling | DM Hoover |
| Fort Dodge | Boys Soccer | Southeast Valley, St. Edmond Catholic, Manson-Northwest Webster |
| Fort Dodge | Boys Tennis | Southeast Valley |
| Fort Dodge | Girls Soccer | Southeast Valley, St. Edmond Catholic, Manson-Northwest Webster |
| Marshalltown | Boys Tennis | West Marshall, East Marshall, Nevada, BCLUW |
| Mason City | Baseball, Boys Soccer | North Iowa Christian School |
| Mason City | Boys Tennis | West Fork |
| Mason City | Girls Soccer | Central Springs, Newman Catholic, North Iowa Christian School, Osage, Rockford |
| Ottumwa | Baseball, Boys XC, Football, Boys Tennis | Ottumwa Christian |
| Ottumwa | Boys Soccer | Davis County |
| Waterloo East | Boys Tennis | Waterloo West, Waterloo Christian |
| Waterloo East | Girls Soccer | Waterloo West, Waterloo Christian, Dunkerton, Wapsie Valley |
History
[edit]On March 1, 2021, ten high schools made the announcement to leave the Central Iowa Metro League (CIML) and form a new conference. These schools include Ames, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Mason City, and Ottumwa, as well as the five public Des Moines schools (East, Hoover, Lincoln, North, and Roosevelt). The schools left the CIML in the spring of 2021 to create a new conference. The withdrawal is due to a low percentage in wins from the non-suburban schools in the conference.[2][3] The new conference was announced on November 19, 2021, and included Waterloo East High School, joining from the Mississippi Valley Conference (Iowa).[4]
Due to the size of the schools and proximity, games will still be routinely scheduled with the remaining members of the CIML, while allowing scheduling with other schools they did not have space in their schedule for.
Mason City dropped the mascot "Mohawks" in November 2021, citing an effort to rid the district of a symbol that exploited Native American tribal imagery. The Meskwaki and Akwesasne Nations had voiced objections to the mascot.[5] On March 22, 2022, it was revealed the new mascot for Mason City would be the "River Hawks". The name was chosen by vote over "Majors" and "Monarchs", which were narrowed down from over 300 submissions.[6]
On November 20, 2023, Waterloo Community School District announced a proposal to combine East High and West High into a single high school, citing stagnant to declining enrollment, rising costs, and an imbalance between the two schools. It was put to a vote to the community, passing on November 5, 2024. On October 8, 2025, the identity of the new high school was announced as Waterloo United High School. The mascot would be the Titans, and the colors would be obsidian black, victory gold, foundry gray, and blizzard white.[7] The school is scheduled to be completed with construction and open for students at the beginning of the 2028 school year, however the athletic teams will begin competing under the new school in 2026. Waterloo United will play initially in the Mississippi Valley Conference, taking the place of Waterloo West. Once the physical school opens, the school district has laid the possibility of relocating to a difference conference.[8]
On April 21, 2025, Ames announced its withdrawal from the Iowa Alliance Conference.[9] Ames will join the Little Hawkeye conference beginning with the 2026–27 school year.[10]
Sports
[edit]The conference offers the following sports:
- Fall — volleyball, boys' cross-country, girls' cross-country, boys' golf and girls' swimming.
- Winter — Boys' basketball, girls' basketball, bowling, wrestling and boys' swimming.
- Spring — Boys' track and field, girls' track and field, boys' soccer, girls' soccer, boys' tennis, girls' tennis and girls' golf.
- Summer — Baseball and softball.
All the member schools field a varsity football team, however it is not sponsored by any conference in Iowa. Football is played in a separate classification system, and competition is organized by districts.
Although the member schools field freshman — and in some cases, junior varsity — teams in many of the above-mentioned sports, conference championships are determined at sophomore and varsity levels only.
References
[edit]- ↑ "IHSAA: Classifications".
- ↑ Rohlfing, Noah. "Change on the horizon: Marshalltown, others reveal CIML departure plans". Times Republican. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ↑ "Understanding the CIML". j-hawks.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ↑ Mollenbeck, Andrew. "11 schools join new Iowa athletic conference". KCCI. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ↑ "Mason City School Board approves new mascot: River Hawks". Times-Republican. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ↑ Jirgens, Alex. "For Mason City, it's out with the Mohawks and in with the River Hawks". KIMT 3 News. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ↑ "Waterloo United Titans" (PDF). resources.finalsite.net.
- ↑ "Waterloo United High School Branding: Q & A" (PDF). resources.finalsite.net.
- ↑ Brocker, Celia. "Ames CSD is leaving the Iowa Alliance Conference. Find out where the school is headed:". Ames Tribune. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
- ↑ Becker, Dana. "Another school joins Little Hawkeye Conference for sports". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 7, 2025.